Adam Deshpande

9.0

Sweeter side but not overly sweet — 3 months ago

Maryann K.

9.1

Nice and smooth… not to heavy. Good drinking as well as with a pasta dish! — 9 months ago

Alok Sharma

9.1

Best Riesling ever! Mellow with soft fragrance reminiscent of the Mosel Valley! On the sweeter side, but perfect for our Dal & Parathas! — 2 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.4

Expressive, enticing, aetheric.
Dusty cherries, tobacco leaf, leather, (very) dark chocolate, wood finish, a hint of cigar box. So fresh, so uplifting, so youthful!
On the palate amazing purity, zingy cherry acidity, a hint of orange peel, present, juicy yet very, very fine tannins. After a few hours this shows a darker, richer side. Really nice flow and great energy!
Brilliant, just brilliant. And amazing vale, for this quality! — 4 years ago

Sean Sims

8.9

Wow, jam, dark stone fruit. Deep purple rim. A pleasure to drink as I grill — 6 years ago

Joe Roth

9.2

Still in great shape! — 6 years ago

with Jeff and Michael

Daniel M

9.7

Blackberry jam, pepper, a bit of celer, tar, meat juice with a gamey note too. It's intoxicating and it calls for a quick dive. The palate starts with a very nice blackberry jam layer which expands on the width but soon comes a massive acid backbone which pushes the structure toward the end of the palate. It's super powerful yet very complex with different layers: some grip on the side, a buttery, creamy touch and mouthfeel, the acid backbone and some tannins which kick-start and expending finish, very fresh, with blackberry and pepper and a slightly bitter note, just underlined by the gently drying tannins. This is magnificent and comes easily in my top 3 wines all time. I love it and it's an understatement. #birthdaytreat — 7 years ago

Theresa Bairaktaris

9.0

Excellent wine — 3 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Caymus Vineyards – Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Napa Valley, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Special Selection is Caymus’ flagship bottling, the only wine to twice earn Wine Spectator’s “Wine of the Year.” The 2013 vintage comes from a benchmark Napa year—warm, consistent, and producing deeply concentrated fruit. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from prime valley-floor sites, this wine showcases the Caymus hallmark: bold, plush, and fruit-driven Napa opulence.

Aromas & Flavors
Opulent blackberries, cassis, and baked blueberries, wrapped in layers of cocoa, espresso, and toasted vanilla. Secondary notes of licorice, sweet tobacco, and graphite add depth. With time in the glass, hints of cedar and leather start to show, signaling the early stages of graceful evolution.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied and richly textured, almost velvet-like, with powerful yet polished tannins. The 2013 vintage delivers intensity and weight, but with balance—long, lingering finish loaded with ripe dark fruit and spice.

Winemaking Notes
Meticulous cluster selection, long maceration for depth, and extended aging in new French oak barrels (18+ months). Chuck Wagner’s hallmark style: unapologetically ripe fruit, creamy oak integration, and a seamless, approachable structure even in youth.

Food Pairing
A natural match for grilled ribeye, braised short ribs, or herb-crusted lamb. For a more indulgent pairing, try it with aged Gouda or truffle-infused dishes.

Verdict
A monumental vintage of Caymus Special Selection—ripe, hedonistic, and still showing youthful vigor more than a decade later. Built for aging, yet already a crowd-pleaser. A benchmark expression of Napa Cabernet’s luxurious side.

Personal Pick Highlight
2013 stands out as one of Napa’s greatest modern vintages, and tasting it now is like catching Caymus in its prime sweet spot: power meeting polish. Cheers! — 10 months ago

Rachel Goble

9.3

Happy BELIEVR launch day!!!!! — 5 years ago

with Adam and Sam

Eric Peterson

10

Extremely pleasant wine. Smooth tanins, mild boysenberry notes. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Mark Flesher

9.3

After an hour and a half, this one settled down. Quite "weedy" initially, but then became a very nice wine, almost with a youthful kind of nose. If tasted blind, I would have said this was a 2009-2011 high end CDP. But, there's a HINT of mushroom on the nose and front of the palate, along with raspberry tart and some mature pipe tobacco and worn saddle leather, hint of clove. Finishes with a lot of fruit influence. Tannins have resolved quite nicely on this wine. The youth of this wine is starting to give to a more mature side. Nice. In a good spot right now. — 7 years ago

Kelly Perkins

9.2

Good stuff — 5 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

A classified growth Bordeaux is not normally my Thursday evening tipple but for some unknown reason I felt a little like celebrating. This is drinking quite well right now. Nose opens with just a little air to show cassis and blackberry, leather, moist gravel, and a subtle graphite note. In the mouth, it’s got medium concentration, with soft but abundant tannins in the background and surprisingly good acids. In the drier side. Not a blockbuster or long ager, but quite elegant. — 2 years ago

Neal Ferry

8.9

This bottle has been open in cooler for 48 hours… tastes better 48 hours ago — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Light gold color. Has a nose that immediately takes me to Chablis. Notes of honey, citrus, wet river stone, ocean breeze, tan spice and white chalky soil. Perfectly balanced in the mouth with lots of fruit and acidity. Screams Raveneau. I guess 2000 Raveneau Valmur. Had this side by side with the 2000 Fevre Clos… the 2000 Raveneau Butteaux had 4 hours of air in the decanter, the 2000 Fevre Clos only 30 min… it clearly showed (1) why you age Chablis and (2) why you give them hours of air to open before consumption. The Raveneau was outstanding and the Fevre didn’t have time to show its expression. — 5 years ago

Sarah Nally

9.5

Fantastic cab, perfect by itself or wine dinner. Great compliment with the filet mignon I had tonight. Dry, yet a touch sweet, deep bold flavors. — 6 years ago

Jessica Butler Chowning

9.0

Perfectly balanced wine. — 6 years ago

Navi Sood

9.0

Easy summer day drink. Little on the sweeter side. — 7 years ago

with Monisha and Vinay